2016 Food Storage Challenge

Monday, December 30, 2013

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas ours was great Santa was good to everyone the girls got laptops so now they can do their home work on them instead of fighting over my computer. Andy has also been wanting a laptop to put all the farm stuff on and not have to wade through all my stuff on the desk top so Santa also brought him one (now he just needs to learn how to use it lol). I got a tablet, have been wanting one for a while to put books on and be able to work on things when away from the house. Everyone got a couple more small things so it was all good. We went to my dads for Christmas eve and had dinner several of my brothers were there (When you have a family this large ot is hard to get everyone together). Then Christmas Morning we opened gifts with the girls then about 11:00 Kayla and Travis came over and we opened gifts with them. A little later in the afternoon we went to Andy’s moms and had Christmas out there. After dinner we played cards till late then came home. Andy had to work the next day. I have to admit I took the day off and didn’t do much since I had been so busy the two weeks before that I was just wore out. We got a little done this week-end. Travis just bought a house so we went to see it. Got a load of wood. Got a few things done around the house. Finally got the hams and bacons to smoking. I am working on a few new things for the blog this year. I am going to be doing more with herbs, I will continue the Food Storage Challenge but am going to change up a few things. Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years I will resume posting on Monday the 6th with some brand new things.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Didn't get as much done this last week as I had hoped everyone has been under the weather. I have had a chest cold haven't felt real bad but not real good either. Both the girls have had a stomach bug. Friday night Katie started throwing up and did all night long and the next day. So of course Joleen had to get it to so by Saturday night she also had it. They both stayed in bed Sunday. Then Sunday Andy wasn't feeling so hot but he did get some pipe picked up and a little work done at the shop.

We went and cut a tree Saturday and got Andy's mom one. We helped her get it put up. My sister in law had a ugly sweater party Saturday night we were going to go to but since the girls were sick we just stayed home and watched a movie.

We did get the sausage ground and patties made and froze. Also got the deer meat ground and sausage made out of it. I still need to get it in the freezer.I got some lard rendered down.Was able to get all the fall decorations in the house taken down.I did get a little shopping done I am making most all of our family gifts but I did need to get a few things for them.This next week is going to be crazy I have so much to get done. I have to make several batches of soap and bath salts.Need to make a couple batches of play dough and make some play dough mats.Get my tree up and the house decorated for Christmas.Christmas cards out I don't send out a lot but there are a few people That I like to send to.

I have a lot of baking to do but I think I will wait and start that next weekend.

Get gifts wrapped.And if I have some time I need to work on onions and potatoes.

This weeks menu is Breakfast Lunch DinnerMon. French Chicken Baked Toast Noddles SpaghettiTue. Waffles Mac.& Mexican Tomato's SteakWed. Cereal Ramon Cheese Noddles Burger PieThur. scramble quesadillas Sausage eggs CasseroleFri. Cream of PB &J Homemade Wheat PizzaSat. Baked SpaghettiSun StewThe sides for the lunches, breakfast and dinners are what ever I feel will go good with them.The week end breakfast and lunch are whatever we find or want.Andy's snacks this week are zucchini bread and Cheesecake.Hope evveryone has a great week.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

We just made 50 pounds of pork sausage. Some time back I showed how we grind our own sausage the link is here I did the recipe for 30 pounds. I am going to give you the recipe for 50 pounds which will be easier to convert up or down, what ever you need.

I will freeze half into patties, and 1/4 of it into 1/2 pounds and can the rest of it and hopefully it will last a year.If you would like this in a one pound recipe down in the comments kkezir02 has been nice enough to break it down.

25 pounds Sugar/Garbage Bags25 pounds Sugar or 5 pounds HoneyGarbage Bags a good thing to have on hand They can be used to line a bucket if you need a portable tolet, We keep on in our hunting packs to lay on the ground or on a log if it is wet aso we can sit on it,and here is a link for 32 suvival uses for trash bags.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

This is so easy and frees up space in your freezer instead of having your bananas take up space.I had Andy pick up some bananas the other day for Banana pudding well he bought a lot. So I just canned the extra ones, to use in bread,cake, and cookies.

Peel and cut your banana's I use a food processor but you can use a potato masher, blender or food mill they just need to be well mashed with no lumps left.

Almost looks like a smoothie

Put in a pan add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice for each pint ( I kind of figure 3 to 4 bananas depending on size per pint) then put on medium heat bring to a boil. Be very careful since it is so thick it will splatter. Stir often it needs to be hot all the way through.

Next pour into sterilized pint jars and put on hot lids.

Waterbath for 15 minutes (adjust for your altitude I do mine for 30 minutes)

Each pint jar is approximately 2 cups. Just use as you would in bread,cake and cookies. If there is some browning on the top when you open just scoop it off. It also may have a little liquid in the bottom this is OK just pour it into your batter.

Monday, December 9, 2013

It has been so cold and snowy.We were going to go to a gun show Saturday but is was storming and cold and we had so much that needed to be done here so we just stayed home.Got the lights put on all the animals waters.Lights put in the chicken coop.and a load of wood. Saturday so it was worth staying home.The Girls were in Denver for a cheer comp.They came in 15th out of 38 which isn't to bad since they had to change the whole routine the day before they left.I am almost done with my household notebook. ( More on that latter). I am hoping it will make life a little easier and more organized.I don't think I got any thing done this week that was on my list last week. Got busy working on other things.So I will try to get them done this week, plus a few other things.Dry Onions Dry PotatoesTake care of the last of the applesRecan some Nacho cheese sauceDecorate for Christmas ( I know I should of already had this one done).Rest of the lessons for December.This weeks Menu plan. Andy comes home for lunch so he gets last nights leftovers and I fix the kids kid friendly lunches. I also send a snack with Andy to eat on his morning break since he doesn't eat lunch. This week I will send banana Bread and Chocolate cake.For dinners I add a potato and veg or salad what ever I have on hand and we want. Breakfast Lunch Snack DinnerMon, Waffles PB & j Animal Baked Apples Crackers NachosTue. Cheese Pancakes Apples Stroganoff OmeletsWed. Yogurt English Muffin Kix's Smothered Fruit pizzas Burritos

Friday, December 6, 2013

This is the sensory bin I made for December. I put rice in the bottom and added a couple small Christmas trees,small presents,stars,some plastic gingerbread men and houses,balls , some plastic peppermints and a couple small stockings. I still want to add a few candy canes and some red glitter to the rice.

Here are a few things we worked on the week before Thanksgiving.

Made Turkey puppets

cut small pieces of tissue paper to glue on the tree for leaves

Made a Caterpillar out of the letter C

and put cotton balls on the letter C

I told a felt board story about cat

I get a lot of my ideas from kidssoup.com and notimeforflashcards.com they both have some really good ideas to add to what I already have from when I taught preschool years ago.

I am hoping to get a little more organized so I can also show some of the felt board stories, books and songs we are doing.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Some time back I was asked why have food storage. When I say food storage I also mean things other then food such as alternative heat sources,cooking sources, and lighting.If you are like me you know some people who think food storage is a waste of time and resources, and you know people who think it is a good idea but always have an excuse as to why they haven't started.I would hate to be the ones who knew they should do it but never got around to it and then have need of it.To me it just makes good sense. Even if you don't think the economy is going to tank.There are so many other things that can go wrong.The weather can be so unpredictable look at the people in Colorado during all the flooding there were some who couldn't leave their homes for several days. And look at all the snow storms we are already having, like the one in South Dakota.Wouldn't it be nice to know that if there is a major storm you can ride it out at home and not have to worry about having enough food to feed your family. And knowing you have a way to prepare the food and keep them warm. How hard would it be to watch your children be cold and hungry just because you didn't think it was important enough to do a little prepping.So we have the weather what about or ailing power grid It would just take one major event to take it down,such as an EMP,Solar flare, a massive power surge, and cyber threats, there are already countries that can hack into our computer systems what if they decided to just bring down the grid. You say this is America and that can't happen here. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett has warned people to get out of major cities because of the stability of our power grid. As outgoing Homeland Security SecretaryJanet Napolitano was leaving she said it was a matter of when not if. Ron Paul has even warned of this as has many congressmen .So it is something that can happen here.If we have no power you can't get gas the grocery stores will run out of food, there will be no lights or heat at home. How will you manage?What if you got sick and couldn't work for a while or lost your job wouldn't it be nice to know that you wouldn't have to worry about putting food on the table for your family.Then we have the economy our national debt is in the trillions we are buying our own debt with stimulus money that we have just printed ourselves with nothing to back it up.The stock market is at an all time high (what goes up must eventually come down) just like before the great depression. We have whole cities going bankrupt Detroit just did and they are cutting all the pensions by 80 %. It is not a matter of if but when all this is going to come crashing down and the longer they kick the can down the road the harder it is going to be so wouldn't it be nice to know that you have some food and provisions set back just in case.Maybe none of these things will happen then you could think of it as an investment, the cost of food is going up every day and the packaging is getting smaller. If you had bought food four years ago it would be doubled if not tripled in value today.We have all kinds of insurance for our homes, car, health and life so why not have food insurance. Just think of the peace of mind you would have. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. You don't have to get the expensive freeze dried foods in fact you want to store what you eat and eat what you store. In a crises situation the last thing you want to do is introduce unfamiliar foods to your family. When you go to the store just pick up a few extras things to put back for storage. You can look at my post Food Storage Challenge to get some ideas and money saving tips. If money is tight there is a basic list that if you get you will at least have something to eat. Then there is a second list that adds some variety to your storage. Some food put back is better then no food.So my question would be, why would you not have food storage?

50 pounds of wheat or flour/ tang or juice50 pounds of wheat or flour If you use some of the other types of flour you might want to get a little of them.Tang or Juice. Tang is a great source of vitamin c and since it is powdered it is easy to store. I have juice that I have canned that keeps very well. I haven't tried to store store bought juice so I am not sure how well the containers would hold up. If some of you have stored store bought juice I would like to know how well it has held up. Add some more to your money stash.Put back a little more water.With Christmas coming when buying gifts you might want to give gifts of preparedness such as camping equipment and things that they could use in an emergency situation.

5 pounds of honey/ powder eggsEven if you have a lot of sugar stored it would be nice to have some honey put back honey will last almost forever. If it sugars up just put the jar in a pan of boiling water to liquefy it.Powder eggs make sure to get the eggs that you can cook with, not the scrambled eggs. Even if you have chickens it would be a good idea to have some powdered eggs on hand.Do you have a coffee pot that is not electric? It would be a good idea to get a few kitchen appliances that do not require electricity such as an egg beater, coffee pot, mandolin, maybe even a hand crank blender. Look around your kitchen and ask yourself how would I cook if there was no electricity.Put back more water.If you are able you might think about rain gutters and a storage tank for the rain water. We do not have this but it is something that I am wanting to do.Add some more to your money stash.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I didn't grow enough tomatoes to can tomato sauce this year so I have had to buy some. I like buying the larger # 10 cans they are a lot cheaper this way. The only problem with this is when you open them you need to be able to use all of it with in a few days. So I can mine into smaller quart and pint jars. It is very easy and doesn't take to long.﻿

Pour however many cans you want to do in to a large pan. ( there is about 12 1/4 cups in a can which is a little more then 3 quarts).

Warm over a medium heat until hot be careful it will splatter when it bubbles up.

I don't know if you really need to do this but I went ahead and added two tablespoons per quart ( 1 tablespoon per pint) of lemon juice to make sure it had enough acid, since I was going to use the water bath. I put the lemon juice in the bottom of the sterilized jars and then poured the tomato sauce in. Put the hot lids and rings on then water bath 40 minutes for quarts and 35 for pints (be sure to adjust for your altitude I have to do my quarts for 55 minutes and my pints for 50 minutes) You can also pressure can them for 20 minutes.

Now you have doable sized jars of tomato sauce, and they are a lot easier to handle and store then the big cans.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

This is a easy way to do Applesauce. I like to use it in cooking ( bread, cookies, cake cheesecake ect.) but if you don't mind the little bits of skin in you applesauce it is good to just eat also.I found some apples on sale for 50 cents a pound and since I didn't get many apples this year I bought a bunch.

Wash the apples then

using this handy dandy apple corer core all the apples, you do not need to peel them.

Put then in the blender (The food processor will not work it won't chop them small enough).

Add a little apple juice or water then blend until smooth.

Put in a large pan. Add lemon juice I put in about a cup which would be a tablespoon per pint.You can add some sugar these apples were a little sour so I added about 2 cups of sugar.

Cook over a medium to low heat ( I put mine in my roaster pan you could also use a crock pot) until you have the desired constancy.

Put in sterilized jars and water bath for 20 minutes (Adjust for your altitude I have to water bathe for 45 minutes)

We have had heavy fog here for the last three days which is so unusual for our area.I didn't get to post last week have been extra busy. I did get all my fall deep cleaning done. Moved some cabinets around and got a new larger cabinet for the mud room. Got the pantry all cleaned out and rearranged. My oven finally came in so we went and got it last Saturday.We got Andy's buck cut up I canned some of It and put the rest in the freezer.Got the rest of Novembers lessons for daycare planned.Canned 4 # 10 sized cans of tomato sauce got 7 quarts.16 pints of applesauce for baking canned.We had Andy's family over for Thanksgiving which was real nice I haven't done Thanksgiving dinner in several years. While I was finishing up the food Andy, the kids and the guys all went out to shoot clay pigeons. I was hoping to get to go out and shoot but I didn't have time so Andy said we will go out and shoot another day soon.Friday after Thanksgiving we went to get onions. Got there Friday after noon and was going to go do a little shopping. But we pulled into a convenience store and when we came out the pick-up wouldn't start. My brother the diesel mechanic who lives up there was down here. We called him and he had one of his hand come over and look at it he couldn't find anything then about an hour and a half of looking he tried to start it it started right up.We decided we had better go straight to the motel.We got a room and ordered a pizza and watched a couple movies. Another one of my brothers friends came over about 9:00 and put a sensor on the truck to see if he could tell what was wrong all we could figure was maybe the fuel filters. It also started when he tried it. The next morning we got it started we needed to go to a farm store and get some shear pins for the baler, we keep the truck running all day. After that we went to get onions, picked up 600 pounds 400 for me and 200 for a friend.They were 9 dollars for 50 pounds (18 cents a pound). Got those loaded then went to pick up Andy's mom. We ate lunch with his Mom's friends. then we got her loaded up, plus the dog she decided she needed to take home with her. ( She already has two house dogs and several outside dogs). Anyways got all that loaded and headed home. Got about half way home and hit heavy fog we hardly ever have fog. It was dark by the time we got her home and unloaded so we were hurrying to get home and get the onions unloaded before they froze. Got home unloaded onions then decided to go to the fireman's dance. Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving the Fire dept has a dance to help raise money. It was kind of sad this year not many people showed up. We left about 10:00 the girls stayed to the bitter end. They had some other girls spend the night after the dance so we had 6 teenage girls do you know how much noise 6 girls can make? I had to run to town the next morning and Andy changed out the two fuel filters on the truck. And he got a load of cows gathered to take out to his moms. It was his Mom's 86th Birthday so we all met out there to do a dinner.So hopefully this week I can get some onions done.Potato's worked on.Lessons for the month of December.I need to change the sensory box to the December theme.I still have a few apples I need to finish up.I would like to get Christmas decorations up we still need to go get a tree but if I can have everything else done it won't take to long to do the tree.I need to get some soap made for Christmas presents.I am trying to use my household notebook a little more and stay on some sort of schedule. Hope everyone has a great week.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

50 Pounds of flour or wheat/ Pet supplies50 pound of wheat or flourPet care supplies don't want to for get our pets put back some food and what ever else they need.Add to the money stash.Keep putting water up.Short and sweet this week.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tuesday night Katie got her chapter award in FFA so we were at that all evening.Well all I got done this weekend was to go hunting. Saturday morning we got up early (Katie Andy and myself)and headed to the mountains with the horses we rode all day. We stopped and ate lunch then a little after that we got into go into some Elk,a cow and a spike came running in front of us, then off in the trees we could see some more with a good sized bull. There were to many trees to get a good shot so she missed out again (To bad Katie doesn't have a cow tag she would of already been able to get one). By the time we got home it was almost dark. Got the horses unloaded and put up then Andy and I had to run to town,a store in town had log splitters on sale and he has been wanting to get one. Got that bought and it was getting dark so there was no way we could of pulled it home. We went to City market after that they have pasta on sale for 49 cents so I bought a lot and a few more things. Andy was starting to get hungry and the girls were not going to be home so we went out to eat. Was pretty tired by the time we got home.Sunday morning we loaded up the horses again and went hunting we were a little closer to home this time. Did not see a thing. Came home about 2:00 still had to go pick up the log splitter. I also stopped back by city market and got some more pasta and a few other things. On the way home a friend called and said he knew where some deer were so we got there and Andy was able to get his buck. It was after dark by the time we got it taken care and got home. I still needed to get the house cleaned and ready for the coming week.I sure was hoping they would call and tell me my stove was in.The only thing I got done this week and I am not sure it was even on the list was get pumpkin butter made and canned. I will be so glad when we are done hunting Andy has a bull tag for this next season which starts on Wednesday and ends Sunday night.Then we are done for this year, hopefully he will get something.So since I didn't get anything done last week I still need to get all it done. I was able to get a little done on my bathroom but still need to finish it.I only got a few lesson plans for the week so I still need to get the rest of the months and start on Decembers.One of these days I really need to start on some potatoes.I bought several # 10 sized cans of tomato sauce that I need to put into smaller jars and can.We will have to cut up Andy buck sometime this week also. I think I am going to can most of it. We do want to try and make breakfast sausage out of some and see how it turns out. If I can get all that done at this point I will be happy I would like to get the rest of last weeks list done to.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

10 Cans Soup/Nuts10 Cans of soup get what your family likes to eat. If you would like you can even get a few cases of ramen noodles instead of canned soup. Just be sure to store where the critters can not get to them. I like to keep mine in plastic buckets.Nuts, nuts are a good snack for a little extra energy and are nice to have for baked goods. Be sure to store nuts sealed up, you can freeze, dry pack, or pressure can them.Add to your water. If you have been putting a little water away every week you should have a pretty good amount put back.Put a few more dollars in your money stash.This month try to pick up some laundry supplies,a wash board,or a plunger (clean unused)with a bucket, a clothes wringer or a mop bucket with a ringer, clothes line,and clothes pins lots of clothes pins they can be used for other things.Many Many years ago money was way tight and my washer quit and there was no way I could go to the laundry mat so I had to wash clothes in the bathtub. I had no washboard or wringer I did get it done but it was a lot of work and no fun. I think wringing out the water was the hardest so I love the idea of using the mop bucket with a wringer a lot less expensive then a clothes wringer.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

We didn't plant any beets this year but Travis gave us a bag of them so I was able to do up a few.10 to 15 med sized beets2 cups sugar2 cups water2 cups white vinegar1 tea. allspice1Tbl. cinnamon1 tea. clovesStart by washing the beets. Then put in a large pot cover with water and cook until fork tender. Depending on the size it can take 30 minutes to a couple hours.

Take out and put into a bowl then peel the peels should just slid off. Some of the larger ones you will have to peel.﻿

Then slice into about 1/4 inch slices or you can cube them.

Pack into your jars.

I wait until I see how many jars I have then I can figure if I need to make more juice for them.

In a med pan combine your sugar, water, vinegar, cloves,allspice,cinnamon.and cloves. Bring to a boil and boil for about 10 minutes. Make sure the sugar is all dissolved.

Pour liquid in the jars over the beets leave a 1/2 inch head space.

run a nonmetallic utensil down inside the jars to remove the air bubbles. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Put hot lids and rings on jars process in a waterbath canner for 30 minutes.

I like to let mine sit a month or so I don't know if is necessary to but I always do.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

I have been wanting to do this for a while finally got it done and the kids love it. I plan on doing a different one every month.

I used some old popcorn and added some rice in a tub.I put a scarecrow small pumpkins ands apples fall leaves and flowers couple pine cones and gourds. I give each of the kids a small bowl and a small scoop and let them have at it only rule it has to stay in the box.They have had so much fun playing with it

We made a bear out of the letter b then learned the sign for it. I am trying to teach sign language for each of the letters and a few smaller words.

We colored a pumpkin then glued eyes nose and a mouth on to it.

Just a couple things we did last week hopefully I will be able to post more of what we do all week starting Friday.

My family loves this. I have a niece that all she ask for at Christmas is my apple butter.It is a little time consuming but not to hard to do.For every 6 lbs of apples you will need 2 Tablespoons salt1 tsp cinnamon1/2 tsp. cloves1/2 tsp allspiceFirst I cut the apples into quarters put in a large pan and cover with water.

Cook until soft.

Using a slotted spoon I take the cooked apple out of the pan and put into a bowl. There will be some liquid in with them that is alright.

Put through a food mill or strainer

this is what it will look like.

when done you will have a pan of applesauce.

Add sugar and spices mix well. If it is to thick add back a little of the strained liquid that you cooked them in.

I cooked mine a little longer then I needed to but this is about how thick you want it to be.

Pour hot butter into pint jars and water bath for 10 minutes adjust this to your altitude I have to do mine for 25 minutes.

10 pounds powder milk/Foil,plastic wrap,wax paper,Baggies ect10 Pounds Powder milk If you buy it in cardboard boxes you should try yo get it into sealable containers.Foil, plastic wrap,wax paper,and Baggies They are handy to have. I am trying to get away from using any of these.But I do like to have the wax paper and baggies for freezing. The foil and plastic wrap I have cut way back on and hope to completely stop using these.I will do a post soon on some of the alternates to these things.Add to you water.Put a little more in your money stash.If you haven't taken a 1st aid/CPR class you may want to think about taking one just so you will know a little first aid in the case of an emergency.Look at those after Halloween sales get some marked down candy to put back for the coming year you can freeze it , dry pack or keep in a very cool place will last a long time. I try to get the spray glitter and color for hair then the girls have it during the year when they want spray glitter (especially for cheer) I don't have to pay the high prices for it. When looking at the clearance sales always try to think outside the box what else would I be able to use this for. One year they had little lights for pumpkins marked way down I bought a bunch to use in luminaries at Christmas. So always try to think of what else you could use something for.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Well another busy busy weekend. Friday afternoon as soon as Andy got off work (he gets off at noon on Fridays) we went to Farmington and got potatoes We picked up 1100 pounds 4 were for some other people so I am left with 800 pounds that I will dry,can and freeze.I was able to run in to Hobby Lobby and get a couple things. We didn't get home until about 7:30 I didn't have anything out for supper so we just ate a baked potato, so nice to have fresh potatoes again. Saturday we got up early and got ready to go to Durango. We needed to order a stove and pick up a Bathtub for the the Girls bathroom. (We traded a beef to my brother for remodeling the bathroom so now that I have the tub he can get started as soon as he gets back from hunting.)We spent a couple hours in Home depot, we also got a cabinet to put in the mud room I also got a new light for the kitchen. After home depot we went to Sonic and got some lunch. After we ate we went to a few more places Andy wanted to go to a hunting store to look for a Orange cover for his cowboy hat they didn't have one. Then I found a great second hand store that I didn't know was there so we went to it and looked around didn't get anything. Went to a couple other places then got home and had to do a few things in town so by the time we got home it was around 7:30.Sunday we got the cows gathered and started to preg. check after a few though we decided it was a little to early, because this early it is hard to tell. So we just ran them all through the chute and put pour on on which helps keep them from getting lice. After that we went and looked a a Jeep Cherokee that Joleen was wanting to buy it is a 95 and in pretty good shape so she bought it. When we got home Joleen had to go to work. Andy had a fire call so while he was gone Katie and I got the horses gathered up so we could take them hunting.(Andy has a buck tag and Katie has a Elk tag.) When Andy got back we got the horses all saddled up and loaded in the trailer and went hunting. I haven't rode my horse in a while, the last few times I have rode I rode Katie's horse so my hose was having some issues, by the time we were headed back to the pick up she was starting to act a little better. We saw a bull Elk, Katie and Andy got off the hoses and followed it for a ways on foot, while I stayed with the horses. While I was waiting with the horses 2 Elk cows came around the corner about 500 yards away from me they stood there for about 7 or 8 minutes, by the time I thought to take a picture Andy and Katie came around the corner and they took off. To bad Katie's tag wasn't for a cow because she would of had it. When they got back we got on the horses and went to look for the bull Andy seen it once but by then the sun was starting to go down so we had to head back. We are going to try and go back next week end and see if we can find it or another one. As far as my goals for last week I didn't get the house done. I started on my bathroom which is large, it has a place for a large bathtub but when they bought the house they didn't get the tub so that corner has nothing in it so it ends up being the catch all for everything. It is a mess so I am sorting and cleaning and going to do a little rearranging.I did get the apple butter made, the beets canned and we got Travis's Elk cut up he did give us some of it for helping cut it up.I got all the fall and Halloween stuff up I didn't put up a lot of the Halloween since I am going to have to take it down a few days latter, but I did put most of the fall stuff up inside and outside.Got a little work done in the yard but still a some to do.I did get the girls laundry all caught up for them so now maybe they can keep caught up on it.I did get pretty caught up on the food storage challenge post.This next weeks goals are to finish the bathroom and start on the kitchen I want to clean out all the cupboard's ,drawers, book shelve and pantry.Start on potatoes,Work on the yard. Make an orange hat cover for Andy's cowboy hat. I looked for some orange fabric but couldn't find any thing that would work. But I found a orange kids pumpkin costume on clearance sale to use for the material and was cheaper then the fabric would of been..Andy had a coat that had a wool lining in it, the coat wore out and he wants the lining in a different coat so I need to figure out how I am going to do that and get it done.I have some curtains in my dining room that are to long so I need to hem them up.Mud room cabinet cleaned out so I can move it to my bathroom and put the new one in the mud room.I don't have Novembers preschool lessons planned out yet so I still need to get that done.I also want to get back to posting everyday.Looks like another busy week.

Monday, October 21, 2013

I keep hoping that someday it will slow down just a little (I can dream lol). I had planned on getting all my fall cleaning done and fall decorations out. I am only about a month late on both of them.Got up Saturday morning and got started on cleaning the living room while Andy was working on Joleens car.Well I had no sooner got started when he needed my help, then I had to run to town for parts.By the time I got back it was time to go pick Joleen up from work. Got back and went back to work on the living room. I took down all the curtains and washed them, moved everything and cleaned behind, sweep the ceiling (We have that nasty texture stuff and it gets all ucky from the wood stove so I have to sweep it to clean it)cleaned the ceiling fan washed all the oil lamps and all the glass rearranged the book shelves moved furniture around, mopped and put a gloss on the floor. That was all I was able to get done before Andy came in and said it was time to go hunting for my buck Katie and I have buck tags for this season. Well I got mine so it took all evening to get it doable and by the time I got home I was done. I had planned on coming back and doing a little more oh well.I had really wanted to get the living room dining room and kitchen all done. Then I was going to do a little yard work Sunday.Sunday I worked on the dining room and got most of it done. I had to go to Shiprock to meet my Brother to give him some stuff and Shiprock is about half way for the both of us (about 45 miles).Hoping to get the kitchen done today.Then the rest of the week work on the other rooms.Finish getting the yard ready for winter.Decorate the house and outside for Halloween and Fall.Get caught up on laundry, The girls usually do there own but with Joleen working , their cheer practice every night and home work they are more behind then I am and that is bad. With hunting and trying to get unpacked I am way behind. So I will try to get all of it done. I may have to cheat and use the dryer bad as I hate to.I also need to get back to the preschool lessons in my daycare. I would like to do a post on Friday about what we learned all week and the projects we have done that week.I am going to try and get the Food Storage Challenge caught back up.I have about 10 pounds of apples I need to work up, think I will make a little apple butter. About 10 pounds of beets that I want to dehydrate. And some pumpkins that I want to make in to pumpkin butter and roast the seeds. Then Friday I am going to try and go get potatoes.Almost forgot Wednesday night we are going to cut up Travis's elk.Hope I can get all that done this week.

A little about me

I am married to my best friend.
Between the two of us we have 5 kids of which two still live with us.The 17 year old is still in high school, and the 19 year old is taking an advanced EMT class, (both girls). We raise Black Angus cows in addition to
farming, working real jobs, and trying to live as frugally as we possibly can. I
enjoy sharing what few things I know with others in hope to teach them something new
or inspire them to look for a more sustainable and frugal lifestyle.

A friend and I were talking the other day about the high cost of baby formula. I told her when I was a baby they used pet milk and c...

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Disclaimer

We have all heard of a “jack of all trades Master of none” I guess that is what I am. I just do what works for me and my family. I am not a professional in anything that I do so always keep that in mind when reading what I am doing now. As I said I am doing what works for me and my family, it may not work for yours.

Must Read Books

"Agenda 21" by Glenn Beck

"The Protein Power Lifeplan" by Michal R. Eades , M.D.

"Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon

"The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn

"One Second After" By William R. Forstchen

Here is a list of some of the great sites that I link-up some of my posts. They are all great blogs